This is a video that really drives home the point that the “bailout” Washington D.C. is doing DOES NOT WORK, and there are others who fill the void. No matter how you look at it, it looks like small business loan sharking, but it is better than no loan at all. Would you do business with this type of guy? So if we can’t find money from friends and family we might have to resort to these types of folks. The regular banks have seemed to turn tail on making loans to small businesses. What I am curious about is if small businesses are the engine that pull the economic train why isn’t there some sort of economic program set up by the SBA to get these types of loans in place? In my understanding the SBA does NOT make loans, they help guarantee the loans that the small businesses must get from the banks on their own merit. While the lobbying efforts for Fortune 500 companies is substantial there really is very little lobbying for small businesses that is effective. If small businesses we just able to do two things: 1) be able to secure affordable loans 2) be able to get group coverage for health insurance at substantial discounts We just might see the economy rebound significantly. Think about this just two simple things could get the economy jump started. Instead it seem like we have a snake trying to eat a horse with the new healthcare bill and the snake is not digesting it so well! ;-0) Read the original post: Small Business Lending and Loan...

In this day and age I am constantly confronted with decisions. I am also constantly barraged with information of others whose business ethics are simply wrong. They know it when they do it but because they can at the expense of their employees or clients. Take for example WalMart. In this CNN Money article there appears to be a trend where they are dumping brands for their own private labels. This is called the power of market share, WalMart owns the retail space. At the same time, the product company has the opportunity to come back should they spend heavily on advertising to get the users into WalMart’s stores. Technically there is nothing “wrong” with this business practice, however is WalMart doing the right thing? Are they giving their clients the best products at the lowest prices? Maybe maybe not. What if let’s say that Kimberly Clark is in the toilet paper business. Let’s say they get squeezed out by WalMart because they choose NOT to pay for the additional advertising to be on WalMart’s favored status list. Let’s say Kimberly Clark has a $5 Trillion imaginary contract with the largest pulp manufacturers Big Pulp Mfg. Co. What if WalMart also had a $500 Billion contract with Big Pulp Mfg. Co. Kimbery Clark would rank over WalMart. Let’s say there is a new beetle that destroys most of the trees in Big Pulp Mfg. Co. and demand goes through the roof. Big Pulp Mfg. Co. decides to reward Kimberly Clark with paper allocation and not WalMart. Now WalMart customers run out of ass wipe. Oh my, Houston we now have a problem of epic proportions. WalMart begs Kimberly Clark to sell them their toilet paper. However, the relationship is destroyed and there is no longer any trust, so Kimberly Clark decides to return the favor by selling to WalMart as such a high price it prices WalMart out of the market. This is what is known as a pissing match and no-one wins especially the consumer. We are seeing similar business model fluctuations with Google taking over the Yellow Pages, Book Publishing, Newspaper Advertising etc. While market supply and demand don’t involve business ethics necessarily many businesses have become dependent on Google either for SEO or PPC or traffic in general, they literally have the power to make a break companies by deindexing them. And have done so for various reasons. So they say, “do no evil.” So on a smaller scale for small businesses we are faced with similar situations almost on a daily basis just not as visible. When it it OK to bend the rules a...

Let me start off by saying I am “out of integrity.” I am out of integrity with myself on too many occasions. For example, I tell myself I will go to the gym today, and guess what? The exercise to the refrigerator is a whole lot more enjoyable. (However today I actually did make it to the gym!) But I can tell you I had a task on my written to do list and I have not done it yet, I chose to write a blog post instead. I’m supposed to call a client on their content and just don’t want to, it will require me to think about their content which I want to do but don’t want to actually have to think about it. Now I know I can wait another day to do this but it just makes the flow of the project and the organization a little messier. My integrity in the workspace really has more to do with my personal integrity with self. Because no-one knows about this other than me. I do my best to follow through on my word all the time and every time weather it be personal or professional because I treat others differently than myself, I am kinder to them than to I. I follow through with them than to I and I think you will hear that if you talk to friends and colleagues. But back to integrity in the work place. It is these little types of things that break down communications, they then break down relationships both personal and professional. A glaring example is Tiger Woods saying “I do,” but what he really did was something entirely different. He was out of integtity with himself and his family and who knows who else. How many times in the workplace have you had a boss or a client say I will call you tomorrow with the <fill in the blank> and the call never comes. Guess what? You are left hanging. There was probably some justification for not making the call but that person is out of integrity in the workplace as well as personally out of integrity. S/he made a promise to call and did not follow through. I can guarantee you that this happens ALL the time. We tend to be blaze about it, and say “oh they are just that way.” But at the end of the day weather it be a promise to your kid or a promise to your boss we get much better results in life by doing what we say and saying what we do. So I will make that...

I am sure most of you don’t watch AlJazeera especially those who are in the States. So if you have missed, here is an interview with Robert Kiyosaki on AlJazeera with Riz Khan. What’s your opinion on the education system of your country? Does it prepare you to be successful businessman or good employee? I think in almost all countries in the world, it’s the latter. Please share your thoughts on this in the comments...

Ramit Sethi, Author of I Will Teach You to Be Rich was interviewed by certified financial planner, Cathy Curtis at the Commonwealth Club of California event. Ramit talked about his book and some of his philosophies on personal finance management. I recorded the interview and wanted to share a few snippets from the discussion about his “Bulletproof Personal-Finance System”. Watch the video and share in the comments your thoughts about his system. Have you tried it? Do you think it works? If not, why? ...

Jack M. Guttentag As the unemployment rate rises, more mortgage borrowers must choose between default and making the payment out of savings. That can be an agonizing decision. See the letter below: “I was laid off recently but am reasonably hopeful of finding another position soon… We have stayed current by drawing down our IRAs, but there is only about $4,000 left, enough to cover us for one more month…Our family is counseling us to keep the $4K left in our IRAs and not make the next monthly mortgage payments. Do you agree?” Not making the payment will hurt your credit, but if the choice is between missing the payment this month and missing it next month, I would miss it this month and keep the cash. I would only use the rest of your cash to make the payment if you manage to get a job before 30 days after the payment due date. In that event, you have a reasonable hope of being able to work your way out of the jam you are in, so using your remaining money to save your credit makes sense. This question is heavily value-laden, which is why I answered it in terms of what I would do, which is not necessarily what someone else with different values might elect to do. Some, especially investors, could take the position that a borrower is morally obliged to make the payment if there is any possible way to do it. This is a defensible argument, but it assumes that the borrower’s only duty is to the investor. The borrower in question has a family to consider as well. The issue of a borrower’s obligation to continue making payments out of savings after their income-generating capacity has been impaired arises in connection with the government’s Home Affordability Modification Program. See another letter from a reader: “I have applied to have my loan modified, and am in process of filling out the financial questionnaire that my servicer sent me. It asks for the amounts in my bank accounts. Although my income has dropped, I have enough money in the bank to cover the mortgage payment for three years. Should I take it out, and where should I put it?” To be eligible to have your payment reduced under this program, you must document not only that your income is insufficient to meet the payment but also that you do not have “sufficient liquid assets” to make the payment. I have scrutinized the specs for this program issued by Treasury, and could not find a definition of either “sufficient” or “liquid assets.” It is a thorny...

When Edward Miller recently applied for a Charles Schwab Corp. credit card, a company representative asked him to fax in copies of his bank-account statements to verify his net worth. It was “a bit of a hassle,” says the 64-year-old retired economics and finance professor from Bethesda, Md. He complied and was eventually approved for the card with a $5,000 limit. After years of mailing cards out to just about anybody, banks are suddenly freezing out all but the most creditworthy customers. Those who do get cards have to jump through more hoops, such as sending in copies of their pay stubs. And they’re being hit with higher rates and fees. Banks always tighten credit standards in an economic slowdown. But the recently passed Credit Card Act of 2009 is forcing the industry to rewrite the play book it has used for years. The new legislation aims to limit fluctuating interest rates, ban some controversial practices and arm consumers with more information on their debts. Banks have until February 2010 to comply with the act’s key provisions, although some parts of the law have earlier deadlines. Beginning in August, for example, issuers have to mail bills at least 21 days before the due date and provide at least 45 days’ notice before changing any significant terms on a card. The result: Many banks are tightening things up now before many of the restrictions go into effect. For consumers, the tougher underwriting standards by banks may seem like a pendulum shift back to an earlier era when credit cards sported annual fees and double-digit interest rates. In recent years, issuers cast as wide a net as possible by offering credit to millions of customers, knowing they could always raise rates on those who turned out to be bad bets. That pricing flexibility helped firms rapidly expand their operations, as those with less-than-stellar credit many of whom carried a balance or paid late fees and penalty rates generated millions of dollars in revenue. Now, the industry is scrambling to figure out who its new profitable customer is. “Without the ability to reprice customers, raise fees or rates, the old profitability calculation won’t apply,” says Alan Mattei, managing director at Novantas LLC, a bank consulting firm. In recent months, banks including Bank of America Corp., Citigroup Inc. and J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., have raised interest rates and fees, switched customers with fixed rates to variable ones, and dropped credit lines and closed accounts. Credit Suisse Group’s Moshe Orenbuch expects credit-card balances could shrink by 10% to 15% through 2012 as banks drop their teaser-rate offers and cut back on offering credit...

The Australian Government provides a money-management site that is useful to people around the world. Understanding Money encourages readers to adopt a three-point approach to their finances: Prepare a budget planÂ – work out how much you earn and what you spend it on, to help you see where you could make changes. Set some financial goalsÂ – they donâ€™t have to be big, but theyâ€™ll help you see what you could gain by being better with your money. Get into the savings habitÂ – once youâ€™ve set some goals, try to save regularly and as much as you can to meet your goals. Understanding Money includes a free, downloadable budget planner in Excel format; a financial health check with links to financial literacy resources; and a free, downloadable money handbook in PDF format. Though some of the details (such as the types of retirement programs) are Australia-specific, the concepts are applicable to anyone, anywhere. View post:Understanding...

Cherie Kerr wants out of her home. The 65-year-old comedian and public speaking coach paid $590,000 for a 1,150-square-foot Los Angeles condo two and a half years ago–only to find the construction so flimsy that her upstairs neighbor woke her up by dropping a coin on the wooden floor. “A defect hell,” fumes Kerr of her newly built abode. She has moved back into a suburban home she still owns and would love to unload the apartment, but housing values have fallen so far that she figures such a move would lock in a $200,000 loss. The good news is that Kerr is anything but stuck. A real estate agent recently informed her that the condo can fetch $3,300 a month in rent. That’s enough to cover her mortgage and property taxes. So Kerr has decided to lease out her condo until values rebound. While she no longer harbors visions of becoming rich off the downtown L.A. property, things could be a lot worse. “It’ll be a tax writeoff,” she says. Kerr has lots of company these days. No less a financier (and former do-it-yourself tax preparer) than Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner is leasing out his Mamaroneck, N.Y. home after failing to get for it a bid he was willing to accept. If you’re one of the horde suffering real estate buyer’s remorse, you too may be able to turn a modest profit renting out your albatross of a residence. How can that be? Thank the trove of tax breaks for residential landlords. The first step in figuring out whether renting makes sense is to find out how much your place is worth. A professional appraisal is best, but written statements from a few Realtors will do as long as they agree on the value and stipulate how much is attributable to land and how much to the building. (The appraisal, as you’ll see later, is essential for two separate tax calculations.) The next step is to see how much the property will fetch in monthly rent and weigh that against the costs and tax consequences. As a landlord, you can’t claim mortgage interest as an itemized deduction on Schedule A of your tax return. Instead, you deduct interest costs, plus property taxes, monthly condo fees, insurance and anything you pay to a property manager (most charge 10% of rent) against rental income on Schedule E. You can also expense travel and other costs you personally incur to look after the property. The other big tax deduction for landlords is depreciation. The tax code allows you to divide the value of your building (but not the land) by 27.5...